In Memoriam

Shademoors Cemetery

Raven wandered through the vast dark forest illuminated by moonlight and sparse candles lit atop some of the gravestones spread throughout the forest. He had been following a young woman who was making her way through the gravestones and statues of angels. Now and then, he would stop to read the epitaphs, so as not to draw too much attention to himself. An old couple walked past him, as he pretended to be searching for a grave, glancing now and then to make sure the woman was still near. The old couple nodded at Raven, who gracefully bowed and lowered his head in return. The old couple continued on their way, as he watched, waiting for them to be far away enough before continuing his pursuit of the young woman. He could see her clearly in the darkness, his silver eyes shining as if he were a cat prowling in the dark looking for mice. He began gently humming to himself as he moved closer to her. His eyes looked over the woman, memorizing every line of her, the beauty of her light blue dress adorned by a purple ribbon wrapped around her slender waist. He studied the paleness of her skin and the moonlight shining over her white hair that cascaded to her lower back. He felt an uncommon sense of nervousness creep down his spine, and for the first time, the cold air chilled him. It drove him to focus on her much more intensely, as he knew something about her was special. As he followed her in the darkness, she seemed to emit her own dim glow, as if reflecting the light of the moon. He felt drawn in. She finally stopped near a crypt and began to unlock the gate leading into it. He stopped where he was, hiding behind a large gravestone and watched her, grateful that they would both soon be out of prying eyes. He could see her features more clearly now, as she turned to open the gate and walk inside, she seemed to glance up toward his direction. A feeling of urgency and fear caught in his throat, but he ignored it and watched as she made her way inside, leaving the gate unlocked. Raven moved quickly and quietly toward the gate, placing his hand where hers had been. He felt the warmth of where her living hand had touched, then began to enter the crypt, shutting the gate behind him.

As he entered the crypt, her scent was overwhelming. For the first time in his existence, he could smell the pleasant scent of roses and it invigorated him, making him feel drunk with the pleasure of such a scent. "Viens ici, ma petite chérie." he said softly in the large dark crypt. "I was worried..." he whispered in a gentle and calming English accented voice. "You were alone on such a cold and dark night, you seemed so forlorn." he feigned a tone of genuine concern, as he spoke. "I won't hurt you." he said into the darkness. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him, it was the woman locking the gate from the inside. She turned and looked at him, her angelic features captivating him, her bright green eyes shining brilliantly with innocence and curiosity. "Why have you followed me here, sir?" she asked sternly. He was caught off guard but composed himself and lowered his head to her in a bow, then turning his gaze up to her, a silver shine moving over his eyes. The woman seemed to feel faint for a moment and steadied herself against the wall. "I think you've bewitched me..." he said softly. He saw her eyes glaze over and smirked, holding out his hand to her. "Come. I'll return you safely home." he said. She slowly lifted her hand toward his and began to walk forward, as if in a trance. The scent of roses grew stronger as she moved closer to him. She placed her hand in his, feeling the coldness of his skin on hers. She partially lowered her eyelids and looked into his silver eyes, her lips slightly parted, she moved her other hand up his arm and gently held the back of his neck. He felt confused, this had never happened before. "You're a strange one." he said, his eyes moving over the features of her face. She moved closer to him, slowly closing the distance between them. "You like strange women." she whispered, her lips lightly touching his. He felt dizzy, almost as if he were high. She tightened her grip on the back of his neck, pulling him forward, as their lips fully connected. He gave into the feeling, refusing to fight what had taken him over, hearing her soft voice echoing in his head. A deep pain awakened his senses, making him more alert, but the feeling of inebriation wouldn't fade. He could feel her deepen the kiss she had placed on him and tried to pull away, needing a moment to understand what was happening, but she held him firmly as if he were a mere human. The pain returned and he felt his body weaken considerably, feeling himself dropping to his knees, as if she was the only thing keeping him from falling completely. In his euphoria, he felt gratitude. He felt more alive in that moment than he ever had before. In a wave of masochism, he wanted it to last forever, he wanted the encroaching darkness to consume him.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard and Raven could feel the cold air hit his now warm skin. He felt as if he was waking up from a dream and opened his eyes to find himself sitting on his knees, the stone crypt having been broken apart. "You idiot!" Rickey yelled, as he dragged Raven to his feet. "What happened?" Raven asked, still unable to comprehend the situation. He looked toward the church and saw Evil holding the woman in the air by her neck. "That happened." Rickey said, holding Raven up. They walked slowly toward Evil, who was still holding the woman. "Ami was right to worry about you two, but I expected more from you, Raven." Evil said as they approached. Rickey hissed, baring his sharp fangs at the woman being held up by Evil, "What exactly is she?" he asked. "She's a human I was following through the cemetery, you can smell the mortality on her." Raven said in his confusion. Rickey looked at Raven as if Raven had gone insane, "She smells like this cemetery, she smells dead. Have you lost your mind?" he asked. The woman began to smile and laugh as she was still held in the air by Evil's unrelenting grip around her throat. "It doesn't work on you, one-eye." she said gleefully to Rickey. "What doesn't work on him?" Raven asked angrily. "She's a haltija, a type of fairy. This one prefers cemeteries and feeding on the living dead. They're fatal to our kind, they can easily draw us in and are immune to us. And, they can't die." Evil said, tightening his grip around her neck. It didn't seem to phase her. She looked at Raven, keeping her eyes locked with his, as he adjusted his clothing and glared at her. "Disgusting creature. I feel violated." he said. "No different than what you do to so many human women, to what you did to one just before coming here for me." she said. "Kill her." Rickey said, having heard enough. Evil sighed, "I told you, they can't be killed.". "Are you just going to let her go?" Raven asked, nervous that she might come for him again. "I can't do that, she had your blood. If I let her go, she'll come after you until she finishes her meal." Evil said. The woman let out a shrill scream as she twisted in Evil's grip, biting at him, a medium sized pair of vivid green wings folding from behind her back and fluttered softly. Rickey stepped back in surprised and put out his arms, "It can fly?!" he asked. Raven watched her curiously, "So she can." he said with a sigh. Evil appeared to be studying the length and shape of the wings, "This one is young, the wings are small. She's nocturnal like the luna moth." he said. Evil lowered her to the ground as her wings began to fold again, keeping his grip on her throat. "What's your name?" Raven asked her, as Rickey shook his head violently in disapproval of his question. "Meringue." she said softly, looking Raven over and meeting his gaze once more. Rickey's expression fell. "You're joking, right? I'm sorry, are we in a fairytale?" he asked, annoyed at the absurdity of her name. "It's the name my mother gave me, you idiot." she snapped back at him. "And, what the hell is her name? Pumpkin?" he asked sarcastically. "No, her name is Abigail." she said. Raven turned his head curiously at the name, as Rickey rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in defeat. "What are we going to do with her?" Rickey asked. "We'll take her with us and figure it out later. If anyone has anything we can use for binding and a head covering, now would be the time to offer it." Evil said. Rickey took his belt off and began binding her wrists. When he was done, Raven removed his long overcoat and dropped it on her head as he walked by her, "Let's go." he said. "Are you serious?!" she yelled, as Evil picked her up from under her knees and slung her own his shoulder. The brothers began walking back toward the house. Raven walked silently, unsure of how to feel about the experience, while being fully aware of the hole Rickey was boring into the back of his head in disappointment.